Transcript Making Web-based Job Search Tools Work for You

Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
Topics & Agenda
• Housekeeping
• Identify objectives
• Misconceptions, statistics, pros and cons of using the
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Internet
Maximizing your time on the Internet
Establish and manage your professional image online
Online job search resources – focus on social
networking sites
Audience Q&A
PowerPoint slides and notes
from this presentation will be
available online at
www.cpcc.edu/transition
Objectives
Audience will be able to answer these questions
• How much time should I spend job searching
online?
• What online activities are more likely to yield
better job search results?
• How can I make the web work for me?
• What are some basic and advanced job search
resources and tools on the Internet, and for
what purposes can I use them?
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
What words and feelings come
to mind when you think about
using the Internet for job
searching?
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
Computers don’t hire.
People do.
- Kevin Donlin, Owner, Guaranteed Resume
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
The Best Tool for the Job
We have been led to believe that the
Internet makes job searching easy
It doesn’t.
Successful web-based job searches are
possible when we plan the time we spend
online and use the Web judiciously
Success Rate of Online Job Searches
 Roughly 10% of workers hired are typically found as a
result of jobs posted on the big online job boards
 Companies’ own websites and career-niche websites
account for over 70% of internet hires
 85-90% of available jobs are posted neither online nor
in newspapers
Still Viable
Don’t stop using the Web all together
Organize and Maximize your
online job search
Depending on your industry, most
should devote a smaller proportion of
their job search time and effort online
A proactive, targeted approach is best
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
Spend Less Time
 Waiting for employers to find you
 Using big job boards such as
Monster and CareerBuilder.com for
anything other than research and
collecting leads
 Using technology services that aren’t
beneficial to you and your career
 Sitting behind the computer, not
getting out and meeting people
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
Connect with the People Who Count
The best uses of the internet help you connect with
people—especially hiring managers!
• Research companies, industries, and leaders
• Identify more opportunities
• Market yourself online
• Participate in social and professional networks
• Keep up with the latest news
• Follow-up on your applications
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
Check Yourself
Recruiters search applicants’ names online
Ensure that your existing online
representation is accurate, professional,
and positive
If your name does not appear
in the search results, consider
establishing a basic web presence
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
General Online Image Tips
• Do not post questionable photos
• Watch affiliations
• Be careful of others’ content
• Find out what can be traced to
your name (full name vs. screen
name)
Example (Be extra careful)
Ways to build an online presence
 Join and create a profile on professional networking
sites such as LinkedIn.com
 Actively post on industry-specific forums and
comment boards. Become a “regular.”
 Create basic profile on social networking sites such as
Facebook.com
 Start using Twitter to comment on your job search and
follow others’ experiences
 Write and publish an article, essay, or blog
 If there is a professional, career-related, well-produced
video with you in it, try to get it on YouTube.
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
Name a specific online
service or tool that
you have tried
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
Job Boards
The big ones aren’t all bad
Take advantage of job search tips and
articles
Postings are a resource for researching
companies and finding additional employers
to approach
Read postings to see what qualifications
employers in your industry seek most often
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
Job Boards
Aside from Monster.com and
CareerBuilder.com, there are
many moreYorZ.com
Guru.com
LinkUp.com
College Recruiter
Most professional association
websites have job boards
NC Job Bank
Social Networking Sites
Professional and Primarily Social
Yahoo UserGroups
Meetup.com
ListServs
Facebook
Twitter
Gather
eons
LinkedIn
Boomj
Blog sites (Blogger, GoogleBlog,
Wordpress)
Just about any online forum
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
 Sign up for a profile, especially if you know many of
your friends, family, and peers are using Facebook.
 If you already have a profile, check it thoroughly to
make sure there is no content that might keep you from
getting a job. Employers will check.
 Use Facebook updates, group functions, and friends as
sources for job leads and for networking.
 Pay special attention to what your Info section reveals.
If someone searches you, they will see portions of your
Info page – even if they do not have a Facebook account.
Twitter is a website that allows users to post very short
statements about what they are doing.
WHY? The Twitter website says: Because even basic
updates are meaningful to family members, friends, or
colleagues—especially when they’re timely.
Tweets (what individually posted updates are called) can be
 About mundane topics such as, “I’m having pork chops
for dinner tonight.”
 Interesting observations from interesting people –
politicians, researchers, activists, travelers, journalists…
Useful Tweets
Drivers in Charlotte posted
about the availability of fuel and
approximate wait-times at gas
stations last fall when
there was a run on gasoline.
How can I use Twitter to enhance my job search?
• Follow industry leaders’ and peers’ tweets
• Post and get updates about job leads
• Write a mini-blog, chronicling industry-specific topics and
experiences or keep a journal about your job search- Other users may start following your twitter profile
• Create a 140-character (or shorter) professional
commercial about yourself
Lets users get right to the discussion of job related topics
comfortably
Use the group features on the site. Participation counts!
Include as much professional informati0n as you can in
your profile so that your profile will show up in search
results.
Get others to provide recommendation notes for you as a
part of completing your profile fully.
LinkedIn shows whether companies you have searched
have jobs posted.
Depth & Breadth
Social networking sites can focus on very specific topics,
target people in a very specific industry, or be quite
general in their approach. Some are open, and some are
not.
Examples
Marketwatch – discussion groups for people interested
in finance and investments
National Association of Corporate Treasurers Job
Clearinghouse – Membership required
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
Strive to find the
best type of online
tool for your job
search needs
Then, look for sites
that offer the most
effective version of
those tools
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
What type(s) of web-based
tools do you think
will benefit your
job search needs?
Career Services, Central Piedmont Community College © 2009
More Information
Look for links to articles and
resources that you find useful for
learning more about online job
search tools and techniques.
They will be included here when this
presentation is posted online.
Career Transition Group Sessions
www.cpcc.edu/transition
Sign up for the upcoming sessions
704.330.4846
[email protected]
Career counseling for community members
What questions do you have?